Investigative Summary: The Deshler Station Case

N. Reiter / L. L. Schillig

16 March, 2000

BACKGROUND:

In the fall of 1999, we were contacted by Ms. Amy Mulholland, who was a manager and bartender at a small bar in Deshler, Ohio; the Deshler Station. Amy reported that in the several months she had been employed at the bar, she and several other people from among the employees and regular patrons, had experienced ghostly phenomena. In discussion with a fellow who had previously run a bar in the same location, Amy was told that ghostly happenings had been reported then, as well. Among the events reported were:

• Cold and uncomfortable spots that would appear in the back rooms of the bar.
• Footsteps walking in the vacant upstairs floors.
• Doors slamming open or closed without apparent cause.
• Apparitions viewed by the previous bar proprietor, of two old men sitting at the bar.
• Whispers and breezes that would suddenly blow past one’s ear or neck.

Amy indicated that the bar occupied part of the ground floor of what had once been a grand hotel. She was uncertain of the age or history of the building, other than it had been in sore disrepair long before she came to town.

We discussed eventual plans to visit and investigate the establishment, at some point after the Holidays.

Our Investigation:

On the 19th of February, 2000, we traveled to the town of Deshler to investigate the old hotel. The weather was overcast, but calm, with snow having fallen the night before. Temperature outdoors was in the mid 30's° F.

When one pulls into Deshler, Ohio, the character of the town speaks of the dust bowl days of Kansas or Oklahoma. The surrounding lands are cardboard flat, a patchwork of corn and wheat, and in winter, a dun and white ocean. It is quite easy to forget that in the earliest days of the town, the land around Deshler was far from prairie-like. The miasma of an ecosystem no longer found on this planet, the great Black Swamp, still held power then, with dense, dank trees, Jurassic mosquitos, and mud beyond imagining. We suspect that lurking yet under the now drained acres of Henry county, the spirits of another, wetter, era plot their revenge against farmer and townsfolk.

The Deshler Station is a watering hole typical of the lonesome highway towns found from Ohio to Arizona. Along the back wall in it's small dining room is painted a banner that says "Deshler Station Welcomes Bikers and Friends!" It seems the kind of place where one can always find a friend to share a brew with after work, play, or domestic altercation. We suspect the Harleys are tied up there in the summer months, like the horses of long ago...

Rising above the ground floor bar, spanning half a block, lie two grim stories of brick and empty windows, the now crumbling remains of the old Deshler Hotel.

We met with Amy at the bar, as well as her (then) husband and Larry the proprietor of the establishment.

Since the bar was fairly empty, we took some time for an initial round of exploration through the assorted rooms accessible. LS focused primarily on intuitive impressions and dowsing; I proceeded with cameras, and Hall gaussmeter for magnetic field detection.

With sadness, we note that a tragic event had happened at the bar on the previous night. A young woman had been making her way up the steep stairs to the apartment directly above the bar, when she slipped, and tumbled back down to the sidewalk below. The woman, we discovered later, had been comatose from a concussion to the head for about a week, before her family ordered life support discontinued, allowing her death. Because the Deshler police were still examining the site upon our arrival, we were delayed a short while from following Amy and the others upstairs into the old Hotel region.

Following our exploration of the bar, we removed our equipment to a room on the floor above the bar, and made several forays into the unused portions of the building. The portion of the second floor immediately above the bar has been sectioned off and improved to the extent that several small apartments exist there. Beyond the hallway door to this area, however, we were confronted with an extensive set of old, stripped out, decaying guest-rooms. We wandered the halls with our hosts; LS picking up impressions and dowsing reactions, and I with cameras, Hall gaussmeter, magnetic compass, and ultrasonic sniffer.

The third floor, accessible from three points, resembled the second floor, but had sustained much further decay from roof leaks, pigeons, and rain and snow through broken windows.

After making several rounds of these areas, we descended to the bar area, to warm up and review our findings with Amy. While doing so, we spoke briefly with a fellow who had previously operated a bar in the Deshler Station's location. He related a handful of tales to us regarding noises, unusual re-arrangement of bar items, and presences noticed by some of his patrons, back in the 1970's and 80's. We were also given the name and phone number of a woman living nearby, who writes for the local newspaper, the Deshler Flag, and was considered to be the best historian in the town. We considered that such a person might be able to provide some interesting information on the building we were investigating!

From the bar, we called our contact, Ms. Karen Sunderman, and found her to be at home; and furthermore, willing to give us such information as she could find in her at-home files. We bid adieu to Amy and the other folks at the bar, and proceeded to Karen's house.

Karen Sunderman turned out to be a great wellspring of information, not only about the building in question, but about Henry county and Deshler in general. She also is a most gracious hostess, and we are indebted to her for taking two strange ghost-hunting types into her home!

We spent well over an hour with Karen, and sifted through a substantial stack of clippings and photos, all dealing with the building that eventually was known as the Deshler Hotel.

In the section of this report following our investigative findings, we will briefly outline the information gleaned.

Following our stay at Karen's house, we departed the town of Deshler as night was falling.

Physical and Photographic Results:

Following this section, we present a breakdown of LS' intuitive and dowsing results. These tie in well with the historical data brought to light by Karen Sunderman. As far as specific physical observations, we note:

The Bar and Dining Room - Near the NW corner of the dining room was a large round table, meant to accommodate 5 to 6 chairs. In the region of the table, seemingly centered above it, we observed a significant rise in background magnetic field ambient, about 50%, or about .2 gauss. No immediate source for the rise in field strength was observed.

In back of the restroom area, a storeroom exists, off of which are two additional storage rooms and a walk-in cooler. In the front storeroom, at a point about 1.5 meters off of the floor, we observed a deflection in the background magnetic ambient of about .1 gauss, or about 25% of geomagnetic ambient. As with the dining room anomaly, no immediate conventional source was noted. However, here we also observed that LS found a very strong response with her dowsing rods. The location corresponded with an iron lid of an old drainage pit, or sewer access of some sort. The iron of the lid, however, did not seem to be the source of the magnetic anomaly, as the deviation was greater at about 1.5 meters above the lid! Curious...

No confirmable photographic anomalies were observed in the bar or dining areas.

The Second Floor - Reference LS' observations regarding this floor. There did not seem to be any strong physical anomalies noted (magnetic, acoustic). We did observe on one photo, a very faint orb image near the door to the apartment area where we had put our equipment. This area was also said to be where one particular outside window would spontaneously open.

The Third Floor - Again, reference LS' observations. In one of the hallways on the third floor, in the section that LS felt most strongly about with respect to prostitution, we observed a location where the needle of my magnetic compass oscillated in a slow swinging motion, even after standing still for several minutes. No visible reason for this was apparent.

In one photo, taken in a room where LS had a particularly strong impression of death, we see a fairly prominent orb. In another photo, taken from the second floor looking up to the top landing of the main stairway leading to the third, we see an easily distinguished translucent orb image.

In a photograph taken in one of the third floor rooms, we see an unusual effect. The room seems filled with orb-like images, except that instead of round, the multiple images are elongated diamond shapes! We consider it likely that the images here were from suspended dust in the air, reflecting the light of the flash. One cannot be positive, however, because the odd effect is not found in any other photo taken at the old hotel!

LS Intuitive and Dowsing Results:

On Site Impressions:

Overall, the main theme or impression was that "appearances are deceiving". This once opulent hotel served its intended purpose originally, but succumbed to the vice of what was initially covertly run prostitution in designated areas. There is a lot of energy reflective of tension in attempts to deceive the public and owner of what is actually transpiring.

Bar:

The bar area seemed to have been an area whose use had not changed even though the currently seedy decor was obviously nothing compared to what must have originally been there.

Nevertheless, the aura of lonely, lost souls permeated the atmosphere...whether they be from this era or days long past.

I sensed a gentleman entering the door, glancing around, and trying to determine who to speak to regarding those patrons such as himself who were really searching for the covertly run brothel. I also got the visual image of many black people, however the time period definitely does not fit with the underground railroad era. I specifically got the image of a thin, black woman (Annabelle?) who may have been using rooms or storage areas to shelter relatives; again, this was confusing to me, because I couldn't place why this would be occurring.

Dining Area:

This area seemed to have undergone massive structural changes from my impression of what this area must have once appeared like. In the northeast corner, I sensed a gentleman at a desk or counter managing unscrupulous business affairs. He seemed to be watching the door in anticipation of potential clients. Currently, this area is occupied by a round table over which a strong dowsable energy area was indicated. (NR note - this is also the same table above which we observed one of the magnetic deviations)

Storage Room:

This area was very confusing for me. I believe that two separate events happened in this area and the images of period clothing were conflicting. First, I sensed a man with the old-fashioned ice tongs in the room. He seemed to be involved in some type of a physical act having negative implications; it does not appear to be necessarily violent in nature, but definitely something with a hidden agenda. Secondly, I sensed this area being utilized heavily during prohibition times. There was a strong dowse over a round metal cover in the floor and also in front of what are now cooler doors.

Second Floor:

I believe that the west third of this floor was exactly what it presented itself to be...a beautiful hotel. However, the east third was the beginning of what would have been considered a supposedly covertly run brothel. This floor would have housed those women who were of a little higher standard that the women working the third floor.

I believe that the manager of the hotel had an apartment in this area, because it was on this floor than I got images of him. I had a strong sense that whoever owned this building was not the manager. The owner was even quite oblivious to the brothel that was operating out of his establishment, or at least to the extent that it was being run. Later in time, I also believed that he was oblivious to booze running that was operating from the storage area. I sensed the name Thomas and images of Canada were strong.

The Third Floor:

This area was the heart of the brothel. The east wing seemed to generate the most strife. I sensed that the northern-most area was inhabited by a woman who probably would have been a sort of matriarch to her girls. The rooms numbered in the upper thirties and early forties were permeated with much negative energy. This area was also spattered with strongly dowsable areas. Adjoining rooms, numbers 39 and 40, had a strong impression of a murder. I sensed uneasy emotions of several call girls and the matriarch in these rooms as they struggled with the best way to deal with this situation; I believe that a patron rather than a working girl was the victim in this crime.

Interview:

After our visit to the hotel, we were able to meet with a local historian, Mrs. Sunderman, who was able to confirm the following intuitive impressions with historical data:

1. The establishment was indeed owned and operated by two separate individuals.
2. The family managing the establishment at the turn of the century, the Fayrams, were originally from Canada.
3. While no direct historical testimony linked the Deshler Hotel to prostitution, such activity was known to exist at two other establishments in the town, even to the extent that a certain amount of competition was likely.
4. The town was originally settled by 30 black families brought in to work for the railroad.
5. A black woman ran a confectionary on the lower level of the building across the alley, to the east of the Hotel.

Further Historical Data:

From our interview with Karen Sunderman, a picture of old Deshler emerged. It was a mud soaked, unruly, railroad town; born to brawl, it would seem, although at a very important crossroads for the era before 1900.

We found that the original owner of the lots upon which the Deshler Hotel was built was a Mr. Frederick Short (1886 / 1887). The property was purchased and developed by a Cincinnati concern, the Deshler Land Company, headed by Mr. Florin Giauque. (Giauque's name can still be seen in the masonry at the top of the hotel building).

The property was then owned by Giauque, and after his death, by the family estate, until 1945; an amazingly long period of time.

The first manager of the Hotel, until 1913, was Henry Fayram. During this time, the establishment was known as the Hotel Fayram. As we noted previously, the Fayram family had emigrated from England, through Ontario Canada, coming to Deshler via Detroit in the 1880's.

We suspect that many of the strongest impressions left in the empty hallways and rooms of the building, and what ghosts there may be there were from this era.

From 1913 to 1929, the hotel was operated by a Samuel Jones, and was known as the Hotel Samuel.

From 1929 to 1945, it was called the Hotel Wallace, again obliging the name of the manager, an M.L. Wallace.

From 1941 onward the building was known as the Hughes Hotel, and the Deshler Hotel.

Records show that the hotel establishment was finally closed about 1976, having dwindled to a few low rent apartments.

As a side note:

We are indebted to Karen Sunderman for continuing to "snoop" the town for any accounts of ghosts at the old hotel. Oddly enough, among the town elders and history buffs, there seemed to be no recollection of any ghost stories from the building! Perhaps the phenomena of the building prefers to manifest for patrons only...

Conclusions:

This case was a success on several fronts, notably re-confirming the historical accuracy of LS' intuitive and psychometric impressions. We also did observe a handful of photographic anomalies, as well as the several spots of interesting magnetic behaviour.

It is our impression that the old Deshler Hotel is home to a number of strong residual energetic patterns that may occasionally be strong enough to manifest physically. We cannot rule out that there may indeed be one or more "classic" ghosts on premises, however, these were not as apparent to LS on the day of our visit. Perhaps one could say that the ghost of the old Hotel Fayram itself is the presence one feels, whilst wandering the upper halls, speaking mutely through broken glass, and peeling fragments of once beautiful wallpaper.

We would like to thank Amy Mulholland, the rest of the Deshler Station staff, and Ms. Karen Sunderman for all of their help in this investigation.

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